Episode 48 (Manga)
Synopsis The next morning, Guts and Casca lie naked together and converse. He sheepishly admits that the previous night was also his first time having sex, and Casca realizes that the the trauma caused by Donovan in his youth is why Guts has problems with being touched. He tells her that she is now the exception to this, and she kisses his cheek. She then asks if his return to them means that Guts wants to stay with the Falcons, but he maintains that his is only a visit, and that he will inevitably leave again. Guts looks at the waterfall and is reminded of his time training during the previous year. In a flashback, a young girl cuts a large bundle of logs loose from a rope, sending them tumbling down a waterfall and towards Guts, who wields his sword. He raises his sword to chop the logs as they fall. After the girl makes her way down to Guts, she notices that he's been harmlessly struck by the logs, and lies in the water, his sword broken. They both go to a nearby watermill, whose only male occupant repairs Guts' sword for him. Guts asks the elderly man, Godot, why he lives in seclusion with his daughter, and Godot explains that the nearby bluffs, which were once home to elves, contain rich ore. Guts then asks Godot to know the reason he became a blacksmith, and Godot replies that it's simply the family business, having been taught to smith since birth. He has a particular fondness for the sparks that appear when he strikes the hot metal. Later, as Guts sits alone on a large rock, he contemplates the lonely quest he's set himself on. He compares his dream to Griffith's: Guts' concept of a dream is much more vague and dynamic than than Griffith's, whose dream of having his own kingdom is much more concrete and communicable. Meanwhile, Guts seems to have resolved to live his life by the sword as he always has, remembering that every major part of his life happened while he was fighting. He decides to fight not for Griffith, or for anyone else, only for himself. In the present, Guts tells Casca about how he's achieved what seems to be his own dream of living by the sword. He says that he will remain with the Falcons until they rescue Griffith and rebuild the Band of the Falcon, after which he will leave once more. Casca begins to laugh, saying that he's speaking with the kind of conviction that Griffith does. Casca suddenly becomes aggressive, angry at Guts that now both his and Griffith's dream are selfish in nature, and how both of their dreams will carry them away from her. She begins throwing a tantrum, but is quickly silenced when Guts grabs her breast, and she recoils in embarrassment. Guts invites her to come along with him. Now that they've come to understand their feelings for each other, he wants Casca to remain in his life. They kiss in the the early-morning sunlight. Three days prior to these events, foresters in the same wood that Guts and Casca now find themselves in caught sight of a large monster, which had a man's body, but had a serpent's head. An unstoppable chain of events is about to unfold, the pieces of which all fall into place. Characters in Order of Appearance *Gambino (Flashback) * Guts * Casca * Snake Baron (briefly)